Had a chance to shoot a little rodeo on Saturday afternoon. And while I was out there – I worked on a some things – such as a few new angles (for me) – and some panning.
For example – I typically don’t sit near the start of the roping events (nor to the side – for that matter) – and during tie down and breakaway you’ll most likely find me at the far end of the arena – shooting straight on – but Saturday afternoon – that’s exactly where I was sitting. And I was close enough to the action that the 70-200mm was too long. So – I worked with the 17-55mm – and some panning techniques.
As for the panning – I should have re-read my notes / exif data from the Philomath rodeo. For some reason – caught up in the moment – I set the shutter speed at 1/20 – instead of something better suited to horses – say near 1/40 or 1/50. As it turns out – while panning cars or bikes or even people – the motion of travel is relatively smooth. With horses – not only are they moving straight ahead – but they also jostle up and down – adding to the challenge. I’m still middlin’ on the image below – but I include it here to show my homework.
And speaking of the 17-55mm – it’s been a great lens (picked it up shortly before Willamette Celebration) – and hopefully I’ll cobble together a review in the not too distant future. That said – it’s not a perfect lens (is there a “perfect” lens?) –but, so far, I’ve really enjoyed shooting it. It’s sharp, focuses reasonably fast, and the images look great. On the 50D – I really appreciate the 17mm.
Hi Jones,
Really love the atmosphere in the last one. Good set with a lot of different looks. Thanks for sharing!
Chris